Miscellaneous thoughts from a Christ following husband, dad, teacher, preacher, professor, school administrator, musician and taco lover, who likes to hang out at coffee shops, read, write, hike, bike, play guitar and dabble in photography and poetry

April 30, 2010

Living Life

"Fear not that your life will come to an end, but that it will never have a beginning."--John Henry Newman

Fear and worry are serious issues. They can really mess up your life, if they even allow you, and those around you, to live life. It could be said that there is a wise kind of fear--a reverent fear--that keep us on the straight and narrow, and there is a form of worry that is really just a healthy dose of responsible and prudent care and concern...I guess.

But I am not talking about those kinds of fear and worry.

I am talking about the kind of fear and worry that rob you of life and leave you with regret. The kind that keep you up at night and keep you from getting out of bed in the morning. The kind of fear and worry that we all wrestle with, especially in the face of risk.

John Maxwell says this of risk and fear:

"What's ironic is that those who don't have the courage to take risks and those who do experience the same amount of fear in life. The only difference is that those who don't take chances worry about trivial things. If you're going to have to overcome your fear and doubts anyway, you might as well make it count."

The element of risk in our lives is experienced in a myriad of ways, but the real weight of engaging in risk is realized in the decisions and actions that affect those things that are most precious in life--our own hearts and lives and more importantly, the hearts and lives of those that we love.

For us to truly "live" there has to be something bigger in our lives than the fears and worries that accompany the risks of life. We need courage. I like the quote from the father in the movie, "The Princess Diaries,"

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

Is there something "more important than fear" in your life? Is fear and worry keeping your life from having a beginning? If so, I recommend that you look to Jesus. He is the visible image of the invisible God. He knows what risk is all about and he has a lot to say about fear ("fear not"), worry ("don't worry") and living life ("I am the way, the truth and the life").